Rheumatoid arthritis natural history, complications and prognosis

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Editor-In-Chief: C. Michael Gibson, M.S., M.D. [1] Associate Editor(s)-in-Chief:  ; Manpreet Kaur, MD [2]

Overview

Natural History

  • The symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis usually develop in the first/ second/ third decade of life, and start with symptoms such as ___.
  • The symptoms of (disease name) typically develop ___ years after exposure to ___.
  • If left untreated, [#]% of patients with [disease name] may progress to develop [manifestation 1], [manifestation 2], and [manifestation 3].

Complications

Complication of rheumatoid arthritis are discussed as follow:[1][2]

Rheumatological

Cardiac complications

Pulmonary complications

Eye complications

Renal complications

Nervous system complications

Orthopedic complications

Hematological complications

Skin

Prognosis

The course of the disease varies greatly from patient to patient. Some patients have mild short-term symptoms, but in most the disease is progressive for life. Around 20%-30% will have subcutaneous nodules (known as rheumatoid nodules); this is associated with a poor prognosis.

Disability

  • Daily living activities are impaired in most patients.
  • After 5 years of disease, approximately 33% of patients will not be working
  • After 10 years, approximately half will have substantial functional disability.

Prognostic factors

  • Poor prognostic factors are:[14][15]
    • Insidious onset of symptoms
    • Female sex
    • Age less than 30 years
    • HLA-DRB1*04/04 genotype
    • High serum levels of autoantibodies
    • Extra-articular symptoms
    • Systemic symptoms

Mortality

Estimates of the life-shortening effect of RA vary; most sources cite a lifespan reduction of 5 to 10 years; the National Institutes of Health has estimated a lifespan reduction of 10 to 20 years.[16] According to the UK's National Rheumatoid Arthritis Society, "Young age at onset, long disease duration, the concurrent presence of other health problems (called co-morbidity), and characteristics of severe RA – such as poor functional ability or overall health status, a lot of joint damage on x-rays, the need for hospitalisation or involvement of organs other than the joints – have been shown to associate with higher mortality". [17] Positive responses to treatment may indicate a better prognosis. A 2005 study by the Mayo Clinic noted that RA patients suffer a doubled risk of heart disease,[18] independent of other risk factors such as diabetes, alcohol abuse, and elevated cholesterol, blood pressure and body mass index. The mechanism by which RA causes this increased risk remains unknown; the presence of chronic inflammation has been proposed as a contributing factor. [19]

References

  1. Young A, Koduri G (October 2007). "Extra-articular manifestations and complications of rheumatoid arthritis". Best Pract Res Clin Rheumatol. 21 (5): 907–27. doi:10.1016/j.berh.2007.05.007. PMID 17870035.
  2. Al-Ghamdi A, Attar SM (2009). "Extra-articular manifestations of rheumatoid arthritis: a hospital-based study". Ann Saudi Med. 29 (3): 189–93. PMC 2813651. PMID 19448378.
  3. Solomon DH, Karlson EW, Rimm EB, Cannuscio CC, Mandl LA, Manson JE, Stampfer MJ, Curhan GC (March 2003). "Cardiovascular morbidity and mortality in women diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis". Circulation. 107 (9): 1303–7. PMID 12628952.
  4. Turesson C, McClelland RL, Christianson TJ, Matteson EL (January 2007). "Severe extra-articular disease manifestations are associated with an increased risk of first ever cardiovascular events in patients with rheumatoid arthritis". Ann. Rheum. Dis. 66 (1): 70–5. doi:10.1136/ard.2006.052506. PMC 1798415. PMID 16877533.
  5. Roman MJ, Moeller E, Davis A, Paget SA, Crow MK, Lockshin MD, Sammaritano L, Devereux RB, Schwartz JE, Levine DM, Salmon JE (February 2006). "Preclinical carotid atherosclerosis in patients with rheumatoid arthritis". Ann. Intern. Med. 144 (4): 249–56. PMID 16490910.
  6. Bharadwaj A, Haroon N (October 2005). "Interstitial lung disease and neuropathy as predominant extra-articular manifestations in patients with rheumatoid arthritis: a prospective study". Med. Sci. Monit. 11 (10): CR498–502. PMID 16192902.
  7. Balbir-Gurman A, Yigla M, Nahir AM, Braun-Moscovici Y (June 2006). "Rheumatoid pleural effusion". Semin. Arthritis Rheum. 35 (6): 368–78. doi:10.1016/j.semarthrit.2006.03.002. PMID 16765714.
  8. Kim EJ, Collard HR, King TE (November 2009). "Rheumatoid arthritis-associated interstitial lung disease: the relevance of histopathologic and radiographic pattern". Chest. 136 (5): 1397–1405. doi:10.1378/chest.09-0444. PMC 2818853. PMID 19892679.
  9. Chang DJ, Paget SA (November 1993). "Neurologic complications of rheumatoid arthritis". Rheum. Dis. Clin. North Am. 19 (4): 955–73. PMID 8265831.
  10. Nadkar MY, Agarwal R, Samant RS, Chhugani SJ, Idgunji SS, Iyer S, Borges NE (February 2001). "Neuropathy in rheumatoid arthritis". J Assoc Physicians India. 49: 217–20. PMID 11225133.
  11. Laiho K, Kaarela K, Kauppi M (June 2002). "Cervical spine disorders in patients with rheumatoid arthritis and amyloidosis". Clin. Rheumatol. 21 (3): 227–30. PMID 12111629.
  12. Genta MS, Genta RM, Gabay C (October 2006). "Systemic rheumatoid vasculitis: a review". Semin. Arthritis Rheum. 36 (2): 88–98. doi:10.1016/j.semarthrit.2006.04.006. PMID 17023257.
  13. Charles CA, Bialy TL, Falabella AF, Eaglstein WH, Kerdel FA, Kirsner RS (July 2004). "Poor prognosis of arthritis-associated pyoderma gangrenosum". Arch Dermatol. 140 (7): 861–4. doi:10.1001/archderm.140.7.861. PMID 15262699.
  14. Agrawal S, Misra R, Aggarwal A (February 2007). "Autoantibodies in rheumatoid arthritis: association with severity of disease in established RA". Clin. Rheumatol. 26 (2): 201–4. doi:10.1007/s10067-006-0275-5. PMID 16572283.
  15. Vencovský J, Machácek S, Sedová L, Kafková J, Gatterová J, Pesáková V, Růzicková S (May 2003). "Autoantibodies can be prognostic markers of an erosive disease in early rheumatoid arthritis". Ann. Rheum. Dis. 62 (5): 427–30. PMC 1754544. PMID 12695154.
  16. [www.nih.gov/about/researchresultsforthepublic/arthritis.pdf Rheumatoid arthritis prognosis]
  17. Excess mortality in rheumatoid arthritis
  18. The second largest contributor of mortality is cerebrovascular disease. Increased risk of heart disease in rheumatoid arthritis patients
  19. Cardiac disease in rheumatoid arthritis

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